SA Rugby Awards 2025 celebrates landmark season with nominees across nine categories

SA Rugby announced the nominees in nine categories on Friday, as voted for by members of the media and national teams' coaching staff.

South Africa's most decorated rugby player, Du Toit, was also on the shortlist last year, as was front-row powerhouse Ox Nche, while this is a first nomination for Feinberg-Mngomezulu, who, like the other four, was also named in World Rugby's 2025 Dream Team.

Wiese had an equally stellar season for the Boks and bags his first nomination for South African rugby's top award.

Four previous winners - Nadine Roos, Aseza Hele, Libbie Janse van Rensburg, and Babalwa Latsha - were nominated for SA Rugby Women's Player of the Year. The quartet, along with the fifth nominee, Byrhandre Dolf, all played key roles helping South Africa reach the Women's Rugby World Cup quarter-finals for the first time in a watershed season for the Springbok Women.

Four of the five players nominated for the Young Player of the Year Award played Test rugby in 2025 – Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Ethan Hooker, Canan Moodie and Zachary Porthen – while the fifth, Haashim Pead, played a key role for the Junior Boks in their World Rugby U20 Championship triumph.

Pead was also nominated in the category for Junior Springbok Player of the Year, along with SA U20 captain Riley Norton, and Cheswill Jooste, while the three nominees for the Springbok Sevens Men's Player of the Year Award are Selvyn Davids, Shilton van Wyk and Impi Visser, all of whom were part of the Blitzbok squad that won the HSBC SVNS World Championship in Los Angeles in May.

The success of South Africa's national teams is reflected in the nominations for the Coach and Team of the Year Awards – Rassie Erasmus and the Springboks, Philip Snyman and the Blitzboks, and Kevin Foote and the Junior Boks, while Swys de Bruin also made the shortlist for the coach award after guiding the Bok Women to their best finish yet at a Rugby World Cup.

On the Carling Currie Cup front, Suzuki Griquas' success in the Premier Division is underlined by nominations for Gurshwin Wehr and George Whitehead, who are up against the Sanlam Boland Kavaliers' Donavan Don, and in the First Division, the NovaVit Griffons duo of Andrew Kota and Willem van den Hever will face a stern contest from Keagan Fortune of the Valke.

All the nominees (in alphabetical order)

SA Rugby Men's Player of the Year

Pieter-Steph du Toit, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu,Malcolm Marx,Ox Nche, Jasper Wiese

SA Rugby Women's Player of the Year

Byrhandre Dolf, Aseza Hele, Libbie Janse van Rensburg, Babalwa Latsha, Nadine Roos

SA Rugby Young Player of the Year

Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Ethan Hooker, Canan Moodie, Haashim Pead, Zachary Porthen

Springbok Sevens Men's Player of the Year

Selvyn Davids, Shilton van Wyk, Impi Visser

Junior Springbok Player of the Year

Cheswill Jooste, Riley Norton, Haashim Pead

Team of the Year

Junior Springboks, Springboks, Springbok Sevens

Coach of the Year

Swys de Bruin (Springbok Women), Rassie Erasmus (Springboks), Kevin Foote (Junior Springboks), Philip Snyman (Springbok Sevens)

Carling Currie Cup Premier Division Player of the Year

Donavan Don (Sanlam Boland Kavaliers), Gurshwin Wehr (Suzuki Griquas), George Whitehead (Suzuki Griquas)

Carling Currie Cup First Division Player of the Year

Keagan Fortune (Valke), Andrew Kota (NovaVit Griffons), Willem van den Hever (NovaVit Griffons)

FNB Fans' Moments of the Year

The Springboks' defence of the Castle Lager Rugby Championship title; The Springbok Women's best-ever performance at a Rugby World Cup; The Springboks' unbeaten run on the Castle Lager Outgoing Tour in November; The Junior Springboks winning the World Rugby U20 Championship; The Springboks' record victory over the All Blacks in New Zealand; The Springbok Sevens winning the HSBC SVNS World Championship in Los Angeles